“Mad Men” actress Teyonah Parris stopped by HuffPost Live to dish about her upcoming gigs, like “Dear White People,” and took a moment to open up about her personal natural hair story.

Parris described going natural as “a challenge” and said that she had her “aha moment” when she saw a woman on the streets of Harlem rocking her kinky curls. “I said, ‘Oh my gosh, I wish my hair could do that,'” Parris recalls.

Once Parris decided to grow out her chemically relaxed hair and wear her natural tresses, she started on an emotional journey towards self-acceptance.

“I cried, I cried. I was not used to seeing myself like that, I did not want to walk outside…My [friend]…had to literally come over to my house and walk me outside because it was such an emotional experience and it wasn’t just about hair. It was what my perception of beauty was and had been for all of my life and then I look at myself in the mirror and I’m like, ‘That doesn’t look like what I thought was beautiful.'”

Isn’t interesting how some of the biggest natural hair icons struggled with their decision to sport their kinky, curly, locks??? Good thing Teyonah got over it…